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Scam Artists Using April 15th To Con Victims

The tax deadline of April 15 is fast approaching, and scam artists are using this deadline to con people out of their money. And, it’s all done by phone!

In this scam, the victim’s phone will ring with the caller ID noting it’s from the Internal Revenue Service. An extremely aggressive person will be on the phone – they may have some of the caller’s social security number and claim that the victim owes thousands of dollars to the government in back taxes.

The “scammer” informs the victim that failure to pay these taxes will result in them being arrested. They’ll tell the victim to they need to fill a pre-paid debit card with the money owed and provide them with the debit card number.

According to tax officials, this isn’t the way the system is set up or works.

Micah Christensen, who works with the Montana Department of Revenue, said, the agency never contacts victims, asking them to remit payment immediately. They don’t say they’ll send the cops over to arrest non-payers, and they don’t say the way that the bill must be paid. He said the agency never tells people the only way to pay is a prepaid debit card.